Shirt with improved adjustable collar button



Aug. 4, 1964 s. BERGER 3,142,343

SHIRT WITH IMPROVED ADJUSTABLE COLLAR BUTTON Filed Sept. 16, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 E92 SAMUEL BERGER BY WMM INVENTOR.

A TTORNE Y5.

Aug. 4, 1964 5 BERGER 3,142,843

SHIRT WITH IMPROVED ADJUSTABLE COLLAR BUTTON Filed Sept. 16, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 34 H2 I24- [I2 I04 6 LHI IO 2 I26 I02 I Jag :14. 58 I14 II2 I22 .60 INVENTOR.

SAMUEL BERGER E916 BY ATTORNEYS.

Aug. 4, 1964 s. BERGER 3,142,843

SHIRT wrm IMPROVED ADJUSTABLE comm BUTTON Filed Sept. 16, 1963 3 Shee s-Sheet 3 IN VEN TOR.

SAMUEL BERGER BY ATTORNE YS.

United States Patent "ice Samuel Berger, Denrich Apartment, Apt. D-20, 4401 Conshohocken Ave, Philadelphia 31, Pa. Fiied Sept. 16, 19.63, Ser. No. 309,133

' 7 Claims. (Cl. 2-128) This invention relates to a shirt with improved adjustable collar button and more particularly relates to a shirt with a permanently secured collar which may possess a degree of adjustability heretofore unattained.

This application is a continuation-in-part based on copending application Serial No. 205,488, filed June 25, 1962, and entitled Shirt With Adjustable Collar Button.

The typical mens shirts now inwide use have a collar which is either permanently secured to the shirt or which is essentially an integral part of the shirt. The front of such a shirt has two overlapping edges lengthwise thereof which are usually fastened together by a button and a buttonhole arrangement. One of the overlapping edges has a row of spaced buttons aflixed thereto and the other edge has a row of spaced buttonholes formed therein which are complementary to the buttons so that each button may be secured in a complementary buttonhole. The uppermost button and buttonhole tightly secure the collar portion of the shirt about the neck of the wearer. Thus, because of the varying dimensions of a Wearers neck, it is necessary to provide shirts in many neck sizes in accordance with the dimensions of the neck of the wearer.

This poses a serious problem to the manufacturer and retailer alike since it is necessary to manufacture or have in stock a considerable number of shirt sizes.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a shirt which will minimize the number of shirt sizes which must be carried in stock. 'Yetanother object of the present invention is to. provide a shirt whichwillbe more comfortable in use and which canbe used for a longer period should the user lose or gain weight or if the shirt should shrink.

With the present invention, however, the number of sizes is considerably restricted inasmuch as the neck'portion of. the shirt is somewhat adjustable so as to'be usable by wearers having somewhat different neck sizes.

This is accomplished by providing a shirt with an adjustable collar button adjacent the neck portion of the shirt in place of the fixed collar button'heretofore used. The collar button of the present invention is rendered adjustable by either being slidably mounted on abacking member or by being mounted on a slidable backing member which is inserted within the shirt adjacent the neck portion thereof. In one embodiment of the. invention the button is slidably articulated in. a track of a backing member secured within the shirt adjacent the neck portion thereof. In another embodiment of the invention the collar button is secured to the backing member which may slide in a space provided within the shirt adjacent the collar portion thereof. Inboth of these embodiments the collar button is positioned outwardly of a narrow opening in the shirt to permit the sliding action of the button therein.

In yet other embodiments of this invention the collar button which is secured to the slidable backing member comprises a conventional collar button. The securement is accomplished by attaching a small piece of cloth with a rear segment behind the backing member with the cloth thenpassing' in a front segment to the front of the backing member through a slot provided for this purpose. The front segment ofthe cloth provides asurface to which the collar button can be sewn.

A further modification of this embodiment involves providing the backing member with an extension which 3,142,843 Patented Aug. 4, 1964 can be folded rearwardly and stitched in place over the rear segment of cloth.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes'better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein;

FIG. 1 is a front view of a shirt of the present inven tion wherein the collar is not spread;

FIG. 2 is a view similarto FIG. 1 but wherein the collar is spread;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view showing the opened collar of FIG. 1; i

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the lines 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the lines 5 -5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 4 but showing a second embodiment o'fthe present invention;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line 77 of FIG.6;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view similar toFIG. 4 but-showing a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a'sectionalview taken along thelines'-9-9 of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a side elevational View of the button-backing combination of FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is a plan view of the button-backingcombination of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view of the buttonbacking combination of FIG. 10; i i

FIG. 12A is a' perspective view of buttons sewn at spaced locations to a longitudinally folded piece ofcloth;

FIG. 12B is a bottom plan view of the device of FIG. 12 with indications as to lines of severance;

FIG. 12C is a bottom plan view of a severed assembly folded upon itself so that the button projects from one end thereof; i i

FIG.' 13 is a sectional viewsirnilar to FIG. 4 but showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a side elevational'view of the-button-backing combination of FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a plan view of the button-backing combination of FIG. 14; and

FIG. 16 is a plan view of apattern from which the backing of. FIG. 14 is formed.

Referring now in greater detail to the various figures of the drawings wherein similar referencecharacters refer to similar parts, a shirt with adjustable c'ollarbutton embodying the present invention is generally. shown atilt) in FIG. 1. The shirt It) with theexception of the area in the vicinity of the collar is of a well known construction and includes a front portion 12 having overlapping edges 14 and 16. Buttons 18 and 20 are secured adjacent the overlapping edge 14. Formed adjacent the overlapping edge16 are'buttonholes'22 and-24. .As'indi'cat'ed in FIG. 1, the button 18 is secured in a buttonhole 22 and the button 2t) issecured in the buttonhole24 by the wearer when in use.

Attention is now referredto the otherfigures of the drawings which illustrate the present invention. As indicated in FIG. 4, a pouch portionZtS is provided at the top of overlapping edge 14 adjacent the neck strip 2 8 of the collar 30. The pouch port-ion2 6 comprises an outer wall 32 and an inner wall 34 which is of. the same-material as the shirt. The walls 32 and 34 are sewn together. along the line of stitching 46. As illustrated in FIG. 5 the collar button 38 isslidably secured in the base Thebase 4t)v may be of a plastic material such as polyethylene or any other workableflexible material, and. is of a generally rectangular shapewith the exception of a short side 42 which isnecessitated by the tapering of the pouch 26.

The base 40 has an elongated slot 44 formed therein and the base 40 is secured firmly within the pouch 26 along the line of stitching 46 which may coincide or be the same as the stitching 36. The collar button 33 is basically spool-shaped and consists of an outer disk 48- which functions as the collar button and the inner disk 50 which are united by a shank 52. The collar button 33 is secured to the base 40 by having the disk 48 positioned on the opposite side of the base 40 from the disk 50 with a portion of the shank 52 glidingly anchored in the slot 44. Thus, the collar button may be slid along the length of the slot 44 and is not readily separated therefrom.

As indicated in FIG. 3, the pouch 26 has an elongated opening 54 through which the shank 52 also projects so that the disk 48 may be located exteriorly at the pouch 26. Thus, the shank 52 passes through both the slot 44 and the elongated opening 54 with the disk 50 being interposed between the base 40 and the rear wall 34 de fining the pouch 26. Thus, the collar button 38 may be slid from the extreme right-hand position as illustrated in FIG. 3 or, as illustrated in full line of FIG. 4 to the extreme lefthand position as illustrated in phantom in FIG. 4.

In use, the wearer simply positions the collar button 38 in the complementary buttonhole 56 formed adjacent overlapping edge 16, as illustrated in FIG. 2. The wearer then knots his tie and adjusts it into normal place and in such adjustment the neck strip 28 is caused to conform tightly to the neck of the wearer. In so doing, the collar button 38, as secured in the buttonhole 56, is caused to adjust as permitted by its sliding is in the elongated opening 54 thereby avoiding any bunehing or wrinkles which would occur if there was no collar button or if the collar button was fixed in position. This results in considerable comfort to the wearer inasmuch as he would otherwise suffer tightening about the neck or would be annoyed by the looseness of his collar.

A second embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 wherein reference characters similar to those found in FIGS. 4 and 5 are employed.

In this embodiment of the invention, the button 38 with disk 48 may be either firmly secured to the rear disk 50 by means of the shank 52 or the disk 48 may be sewn or otherwise detachably fixed to the shank 52 as indicated by the stitching 58. In either event, the button 38 instead of being slidable with respect to a fixed base 40 as in FIG. 5 is firmly secured to a movable base 40 as in FIG. 7. As indicated in FIG. 6, the pouch 26 is not sewn along the line of stitching 46 so that the base 40 is free to slide within the pouch 26 as indicated in phantom in FIG. 7. Also, the base 40 is tapered at both ends in inclined edges 60, 62 and 64, 66. Such tapering minimizes the possibility of the base 40 in binding or becoming stuck as it is slid within the pouch 26.

The outer appearance of the shirt of FIGS. 6 and 7 is substantially identical to the shirt of FIGS. 4 and 5. In use, the wearer simply positions the collar button 38 in the complementary buttonhole formed adjacent overlapping edge 16 as illustrated in FIG. 2. In this embodiment of the invention, the collar button 38 is adjusted by the sliding of base 40 within the pouch 26.

Where desired the button 38 need not be firmly secured to the base 40, but instead, may be slidably fastened to base 40 in order to have some play of, for instance, about ,4 to assist in the manipulation of the button 38 and in bringing comfort to the wearer.

Moreover, the button 38 may take other forms, as for instance, a single disk or button slidably articulated in slot 44.

A third embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. 8-12 wherein reference characters similar to those found in the previous figures are employed. Thus in this embodiment there is a pouch portion 26 that comprises outer wall a 4 32 and inner wall 34 which are of the same material as the shirt 10.

In this embodiment of the invention a conventional button 102 is employed, thus obviating the requirement of producing a specially designed button. The details of FIGS. 8-12 show how the conventional button 102 is firmly secured to base 104 for sliding movement therewith as illustrated in phantom in FIG. 8. As indicated in FIG. 6 the stitching 106 in the pouch 26 passes only into reinforcing ply 108 and does not pass into the base 104. In this way the base 104 with button 102 is free to slide relative to opening 110 in ply 108. In this connection the base 104 may be tapered at both ends in a manner similar to the base 40 of FIGS. 6 and 7 in order to minimize the possibility of binding during the sliding process.

As previously discussed and as indicated in FIG. 3 the pouch 26 which issued in connection with the device of FIGS. 8-12 also has an outer elongated opening 54 which is formed in outer wall 32 to permit the sliding action of button 102.

As further shown in FIG. 8 a stationary plastic reinforcing ply 108, having an elongated track 110, is provided immediately behind the outer wall 32 Within the pouch 26 and may be secured to wall 32 by means of stitching 106. In this connection it is to be noted that the elongated opening 54 in outer wall 32 is substantially aligned with the elongated opening 110 in reinforcing ply 108. Thus the button 102 may be slid back and forth within the opening 54 and track 110 as illustrated in FIG. 8. Of course the base 104 is carried along with the button as illustrated in phantom in FIG. 8.

The securing of conventional button 102 to base 104 is described in detail ni FIGS. 10, 11 and 12 and involves the used of a small piece of cloth 112 which as shown may be folded upon itself to provide extra strength. As illustrated in FIG. 10 the piece of cloth 112 basically comprises a rear segment 114 and a front segment 116. As shown in FIG. 12 the base 104 includes a window to permit the passage of rear segment 114 of the piece of cloth in the direction of arrow 118.

It is to be noted that the present technique of securing a button to a base has been developed as it is most desirable to use a conventional collar button and also because the base 104 is of a plastic material, as was previously discussed, and as such it is not easy to sew a button to a plastic material.

In making the present invention many buttons 102 are sewn at spaced intervals along an elongated piece of cloth (FIG. 12A) which has been folded lengthwise on itself. The cloth is then severed midway between two adjacent buttons (FIG. 12B). The severed length of cloth is then folded in halves laterally upon itself with the button then being located at one end of cloth 112 as indicated in FIG. 12 and FIG. 12C. The actual securement of the conventional button 102 to the base 104 is achieved by leading rear section 114 of the cloth 112 through the window 120 in the direction of arrow 118 and then positioning it against the rear face of base 104. At this point cloth 112 may be secured behind the base 104 by means of stitching 124 as illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11.

Alternatively the combination of the button 102 and the cloth 112 may be secured to base 104 by the direct slipping of button 102 through window 120 from the rear thereof. As a further alternative, the front segment 116 may be slipped through window 120 from the rear thereof and then button 102 secured thereto.

In use the wearer positions the collar but-ton 102 in the complementary buttonhole formed adjacent overlapping edge 16 as illustrated in FIG. 2. The wearer then knots his tie and adjusts it into normal place and in such adjustment the neck strip 28 is caused to conform tightly to the neck of the wearer. In so doing the collar button 102 as secured in the buttonhole 56 may slide along with base 104 within the confines of complementary slot 54 and track 110.

In so doing the collar button 102 is caused to adjust as permitted by its sliding in elongated opening 54 and track 110 thereby avoiding any bunching, tightening and wrinkling which would occur if there was no collar button or if the collar button was fixed in conventional position. The present invention also eliminates the use of resilient devices such as rubber bands which tighten or increase in their resistance as the collar tends to be expanded and also which run the risk of shrinkage and the additional tightening and possible breakage associated therewith.

A fourth embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. 13-16 wherein reference characters similar to those employed in FIGS. 8-12 may be found.

In this embodiment of the invention a base 154 of somewhat modified construction is provided. As shown in FIG. 16 the base 154 has an elongated window 120 adjacent arcuate edge 122 as was found in the device of FIGS. 8-12. However the base 154 is somewhat more elongated in the opposite direction as compared with the base 104.

Thus the base 154 is basically comprised of a body section 156 and a tapering tail section 158. The sections 156 and 158 are separated by a fold line 160 which exists on two sides of a rectangular opening 162 for ease of folding and which is formed in the base 154.

As illustrated in FIG. 14 the tail section 158 is folded behind the body section 156 so that a portion of the rear segment 114 of the cloth 112 is sandwiched between the body section 156 and the tail section 158. Stitching 164 is employed in order to hold this assembly in place.

Otherwise the base 154 performs a function similar to the base 104. Thus, after button 102 has been sewn to cloth 112, the rear segment 114 of cloth 112 is led through window 120 with stitching 164 then applied. The purpose of tail section 158 of the body member 154 is to add further reinforcing and also to insure the smooth sliding action of the body section 154.

In use the embodiment of FIGS. 13-16 performs in essentially the same manner as the embodiment of FIGS. 8-12.

It therefore should be apparent that the button employed in connecion with the present invention may take many forms, such as the spool-shaped collar button 38 of FIGS. 3 and 4 or the button employing disks 48 and 50 with shank 52 of FIGS. 6 and 7 or the conventional collar button of FIGS. 8-16.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in the light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed as the invention is:

1. In a shirt including first and second overlapping edges lengthwise thereof and a collar permanently afiixed thereto, the improvement comprising providing a pouch having a forward wall, said pouch being adjacent said collar and said first overlapping edge, an opening formed in said pouch, a base having a forward and rearward face provided in said pouch, a conventional button projecting outwardly of said opening and being secured to said base for sliding movement relative to said opening, a buttonhole complementary to said button provided in said second overlapping edge and adapted to receive said button, said base including a window and having a piece of cloth having a forward and rear portion, said rear portion being secured to said rearward face, said cloth passing through said window with a forward portion of said cloth facing said pouch opening, said button being se cured to said cloth on the forward portion thereof, said button being adapted to slide relative to said opening and relative to said buttonhole as permitted by the extent of said pouch opening.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said base also includes a tail section folded behind the rear portion of said cloth.

3. The invention of claim 1 wherein said base is of a flexible substantially non-extensible plastic material.

4. The invention of claim 1 wherein said opening is elongated.

5. The invention of claim 3 wherein a reinforceing ply is provided between said forward wall and said base, said reinforcing ply having formed therein a slot, said button being adapted to slide relative to said slot and said pouch opening as permitted by the extent of said opening and said slot.

6. The method of making a plurality of collar fasteners wherein a conventional button is secured to a plastic base having forward and rear surfaces and a window formed therein, said method comprising providing an elongated piece of cloth, sewing a plurality of conventional buttons to said cloth at spaced intervals along the length thereof, severing the cloth at spaced locations approximately midway between a pair of adjacent buttons to form short lengths of cloth, folding said short length of cloth upon itself so that the button is positioned adjacent a first end of the short length of cloth and leading the other end of the short length of cloth through said window behind said base and stitching said other end to said base whereby said button projects in front of the forward surface of said base.

7. The invention of claim 6 wherein said elongated piece of cloth is initially folded lengthwise on itself.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 912,958 Hawks Feb. 16, 1909 1,814,760 Miller July 14, 1931 1,879,527 Sansone Sept. 27, 1932 1,891,063 Shaukis Dec. 13, 1932 

1. IN A SHIRT INCLUDING FIRST AND SECOND OVERLAPPING EDGES LENGTHWISE THEREOF AND A COLLAR PERMANENTLY AFFIXED THERETO, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING PROVIDING A POUCH HAVING A FORWARD WALL, SAID POUCH BEING ADJACENT SAID COLLAR AND SAID FIRST OVERLAPPING EDGE, AN OPENING FORMED IN SAID POUCH, A BASE HAVING A FORWARD AND REARWARD FACE PROVIDED IN SAID POUCH, A CONVENTIONAL BUTTON PROJECTING OUTWARDLY OF SAID OPENING AND BEING SECURED TO SAID BASE FOR SLIDING MOVEMENT RELATIVE TO SAID OPENING, A BUTTONHOLE COMPLEMENTARY TO SAID BUTTON PROVIDED IN SAID SECOND OVERLAPPING EDGE AND ADAPTED TO RECEIVE SAID BUTTON, SAID BASE INCLUDING A WINDOW AND HAVING A PIECE OF CLOTH HAVING A FORWARD AND REAR PORTION, SAID REAR PORTION BEING SECURED TO SAID REARWARD FACE, SAID CLOTH PASSING THROUGH SAID WINDOW WITH A FORWARD PORTION OF SAID CLOTH FACING SAID POUCH OPENING, SAID BUTTON BEING SECURED TO SAID CLOTH ON THE FORWARD PORTION THEREOF, SAID BUTTON BEING ADAPTED TO SLIDE RELATIVE TO SAID OPENING AND RELATIVE TO SAID BUTTONHOLE AS PERMITTED BY THE EXTENT OF SAID POUCH OPENING. 